The Beatles and more specifically John Lennon had an immense impact on society throughout the 1960s to the 1980s. The Beatles affected society with their music by bringing about an age where experimentation with drugs, sex and hallucinogens (previously taboo) became the norm. They were also very popular amongst the new hippie counter culture as they too were anti-war and shared continuity with the ideals of the band. They served as examples and leaders not only to the hippies and other youth movements, but also to the youth of society in general. The Beatles and their music redefined the rules of society. They started new and innovative trends of experimentation with sex and started the idea of using drugs for recreation. They promoted peace and opened up capitalist society to the idea of socialism. These are all major themes which have forever altered the course of future societies and are themes that are still massive influences on our societal decisions today!
The band consisted of John Lennon (1940–1980), Paul McCartney (b. 1942), George Harrison (1943–2001), and Ringo Starr (b. 1940) (Source 2). However, John Lennon was the most rebellious and politically active out of all the members of the group and he used the influence of his fame and music to be incredibly involved in political activism. He and his wife Yoko Ono were in what seemed to be a constant state of protest to the war which was also highly influential on society as their protests were seen by all. John
“I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me... All I ask is that you respect me as a human being.” All that Jackie wanted was a far chance and for his skin color not to hold him back from playing the game that he loved. Once he got his chance he made it sure that he wouldn’t let anyone down and make a show that everyone would want to come and see. Jackie Robinson changed the face of baseball as we know it today.
The counterculture movement known as the hippie movement had a significant influence on popular culture in various ways, including music and fashion. Hippies became a raging movement of fashion and music. Hippies promoted a simpler lifestyle which caught people's attention and soon, young stars started copying their lingo and style. Music including new styles like the Beatles became very popular at this time because it broke the status quo and the original ideas of music along with everything else the hippies did at this time. Hippies as a whole helped promote new ideas and ways of thinking and influenced the uniqueness of various pop cultures to this day.
The Beatles, Pop Music and Youth Culture: Were they heroes or capitalists? The decade of 1960s has a great impact on people of all backgrounds because of the ‘affluent society’ (Hecl 6). The 1960s was the time when people started to settle with the war in the economic sense. This result of the post-war socio-economic shifts after the second world war has led to the increasing affluence and new technological inventions in mass production which help cheapen the price of goods thus lower the costs of living (Bennett 9).
Different races, ethnicities, genders, sexualities, and religions banded together to pretest the war. People view the John Lennon song, “Give Peace A Chance,” as a good example of how the war brought people together. The recording of the songs features an acoustic guitar, with a tambourine, and the voices of, reportedly, 50 people in a hotel room. The song was written by Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono during their “bed-in,” where they stayed on a bed in a hotel for a week at a time, in order to protest the war. This song was adopted by the anti-war movement as its
Janis Joplin was one of the first woman rock singer who used blues to inspire her music and put her on the same playing field as men in the 60s. The Beatles had many influences of music, including Bob Dylan's music, but they also created their own unique music that was different from song to song. In "A Day in the Life", The Beatles created a crazy dissonant sound that really hasn't been heard up until the 60s, that's actually quite creepy. Then they bring back calm in the song by playing the consonant chord to make you feel like you didn't jump off the cliff, so to speak. These were new innovations in rock that made a difference in American rock in the
82). While the Beatles continued innovating rock music in the mid-sixties, other groups like the Rolling Stones, the Temptations and the Supremes gave some Beatles some competition on the music charts. The Byrds joined the Beatles in innovating the genre of folk rock, while the Beach Boys rivaled the Beatles in the studio with several creative hits (Everett and Riley, 2019, pg. 100). While the Beatles did not offer a lot of social commentary in the mid-sixties, events like the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement were greatly shaping society and affecting music. While these specific issues were not explicitly talked about in Beatles’ songs during this era, the Beatles did push social boundaries, albeit more
The Beatles’ impact on Australia in the 1960’s was massive. They gave people hope in a time of war and helped people through the tough times by giving them something inspiring and fun. When the Beatles came to Australia it was massive, people started wearing different clothes and nearly every one stared to listen to the Beatles unique style of music. They gave people a new style that Australia had not seen before, and yet, everyone loved it.
In conclusion, hands down, Elvis Presley was the most influential person in American society. He had a large impact on the gap between teenagers and their parents. He defined rock music which we still hear all the time in society today. And, without him and his music some people might have put up even more of a fight when the integration laws were
Have you ever listened to modern-day Rock-n-Roll, and wondered where this music began and who made it popular today? Elvis changed the music and entertainment industry as soon as he became famous. His music changed American society in many positive ways by bringing a new genre of music and uniting many people from different backgrounds. From a young age, Elvis was around African-American blues artist in his local town.
It echoed major changes that were happening in American Culture. It was a major force for a generation that was fighting for gargantuan changes in society. Social Activism was a major component of popular music. There were protest songs against the Vietnam War and against racial discrimination. Bob Dylan performed many of the most popular protest songs.
The Beatles were considered political activists by using their music as a way to talk about issues happening in the real world at that time. The Beatles “were the first to really legitimize popular music as a form of political expression, and through this expression inspired political activity and participation amongst those who consumed their music; young people,”
Before The Beatles became a band they were individual musicians all with people they looked up to and all with musicians they wanted to take certain traits form. Having four members of the band created a wide variety of influences on the band as a whole by combining the individual members pervious musical repertoire. Starting with George Harrison, his guitar work was influenced by American rockabilly music by Eddie Cochran and Carl Perkins that influenced the band’s songs throughout the years. He also incorporated the melodic lines and slight fills that both Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton created. John Lennon was a huge fan of Elvis, his opinion implied that the there was no true music before Elvis’s time.
“In a country in which popular culture is extremely important, there’s nobody more important than The Beatles.” Steven Stark, a friend of The Beatles once said. The Beatles are not only the biggest band of their time, they are one of the biggest bands of all times. The Beatles did not just sing to sing, they sang to give hope to a generation, they set some of the highest standards in popular culture, they changed music forever, and they still manage to affect our generation today.
Moreover, “ The Beatles” made a breakthrough in deferent regions such as music, film, literature, art, and fashion. Even after their career ended The Beatles made a big influence on the lifestyle and culture of several generations. The words of their songs and images passed on influential ideas of love, peace, and imagination and helped in breaking walls in the thoughts of the people, therefore making a big impact on music and human history . (internal preview) Now that we have a brief intro about who "The Beatles" are lets move on to more details.
Since February of 1964 when the beatles showed their music to the souls of America, everyone was hooked. The Beatles transformed not just the United States form of music but the entire world’s perspective on Rock and Roll; by their attitudes, style and sound. John Lennon and Paul McCartney are very famous names that have come up in many different topics. These guys are the vocalists behind the Beatles. Lennon and McCartney wrote over 300 songs together but not all were put to music and released.